Top Pick For Sauce

Although apples are in the market year-round, they are at their peak in the fall. So, when the trees begin to turn red and gold and the air becomes crisp, go looking for the best eating apples of the year—at orchards, markets, and roadside stands. Select apples with smooth skins, and inspect carefully for dents and soft spots, signs of bruising. For fast ripening, keep apples at room temperature. Refrigeration in plastic bags keeps apples for the longest period, but they also keep well in a cold, dry place (32° to 40°F). Store apples so they are not touching each other. If you receive a windfall from a friend’s orchard and want to reserve some of it, let fruit stand in a cool, dark place for 24 hours, then inspect for blemishes. Wrap each fruit in paper and store in slotted boxes in a cold, dark, airy place. With long storage, apples lose flavor and become mealy.

Among firm, long-keeping apples, only Red Delicious is unsuited to cooking. McIntosh and the similar Empire and Macoun, all fine-grained and soft, do not hold their shape when cooked, but they do very well for salads and applesauce. Granny Smiths, the firmest and most tart of all dessert apples, give off a great deal of juice when cooked but are wonderful for applesauce, sautéed apple rings, and tarte Tatin. The most versatile of all-purpose apples is Golden Delicious, which, despite its name, is an entirely separate variety from Red Delicious. Sweet and aromatic when raw, it becomes even more so when cooked, holds its shape beautifully, and exudes little juice. Rome Beauty, another common all-purpose apple, has a rich texture when cooked, making it a particularly good choice for baking whole. Other all-purpose apples worth seeking out include: Newtown/Pippin, Mutsu/Crispin, Northern Spy, Spygold, Spitzenburg, Baldwin, Jonathan, Stayman Winesap, Gravenstein, Grimes Golden, Pink Lady, Ida Red, Jonagold, and Rhode Island Greening—an early American variety, richly flavored and tart, which is perhaps the best of all for cooking.

Peel apples with a paring knife, vegetable peeler, or apple peeler, as you prefer. To core apples, use an apple corer -- a must if apples are to be served whole or cut into rings—or cut the fruit into quarters, then cut away the core with a paring knife. Pair apples with sausage, pork, or ham. Apples are particularly complemented by cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, mace, rosemary, sage, coriander, lemon and orange zest, vanilla, dark rum, brandy, bourbon, almonds, and quinces. An apple with disappointing flavor can be improved somewhat in cooking by the addition of lemon juice, but nothing can really compensate for a lack of natural tartness. Should apples seem dry after peeling, simmer their cores and skins in water. Drain and reduce the liquid and use it to moisten the apples during cooking.